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TITLE: HAZEL - THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
Info:
DVD Release Date: August 1, 2006 (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
B&W (1 episode in color - as it was originally shot)
MSRP: $29.95
Number of Discs: 4
Number of Episodes: 35
Running Time: 910 Minutes
Languages: English
Subtitles: None; Closed Captioned.
Special Features: Bonus Preview (of future and current
Sony DVD releases)
Introduction:
Everyone's favorite housekeeper comes to DVD!
HAZEL debuted on NBC in the fall of 1961 and was an
almost immediate hit. It followed the on-going
situations of the Baxter family, and their sassy
straight-talking housekeeper, Hazel Burke. Hazel is
played by Oscar Winner, Shirley Booth, who also went
on to win two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of the
wise-cracking housekeeper. Also starring in the series
is Don DeFore as corporate lawyer, George Baxter, who
is always challenged by Hazel. Whitney Blake stars as
his wife, Dorothy "Missy" Baxter, and Bobby Buntrock
plays Harold, George and Dorothy's young son. The
series ran for 5 successful seasons and aired on both
NBC and CBS.
Memorable Episodes / Notable Guest Stars:
In many older shows, I feel nearly every episode is a
classic in its own right, but I'll attempt to give my
list of episodes you should take a little extra time
out to watch.
"Hazel Makes a Will" in which Hazel gets another
lawyer to write up her will, making George think she's
going to sue him. "What'll We Watch Tonight" in which
George buys Hazel a color TV in the hopes she'll
finally leave him alone. "Hazel's Christmas Shopping"
in which Hazel uncovers a shop-lifting racket while
moonlighting as a sales clerk. "Hazel Quits" in which
Hazel pretends to quit in order to appease George's
new client. "The Burglar in Mr. B's PJs" is the one in
which Hazel takes pity on a burglar and allows him to
spend the night ... in George's PJs. "Heat Wave" in
which Hazel pressures George to air-condition the
house. "Hazel's Day" is the one in which the Baxter�s
take Hazel out for the evening to celebrate Hazel's
day.
Some guest-stars this season includes: Maudie
Prickett, Howard Smith, John Astin, Alan Hale and
more.
Packaging:
The set is the typical slip-sleeve set in which two
slip-sleeve cases hold the discs for the set. The main
box art design is a huge picture of Hazel pouring
coffee in front of a blue background. Underneath that
is a cut-out picture of the family, plus Hazel,
together. The back of the box lists a description of
the series as well as a few photos of the series from
the episodes. Also on the back is a nice shot of the
family, plus Hazel, together. The box is in all color,
even though the series is in black & white (except for one episode).
The two slip cases each feature a shot of Hazel. The
first case features Hazel holding a cake and licking
some icing off of her finger. The second case features
Hazel holding a flower over her ear and day-dreaming.
The back of the cases lists the episode title and
descriptions as well as which episodes are on which
disc.
The first case holds Discs 1 and 2. Disc 1 features a
picture of Hazel and contains episodes 1-9. Disc 2
features Hazel and the cake and contains episodes
10-18. The second case holds Discs 3 and 4. Disc 3
features Hazel and the flower and contains episodes
19-27 and Disc 4 features George, Missy and Harold and
contains episodes 28-35.
Menu Design and Navigation:
The menu is simple and straight to the point, which I
love. The design is more or less a copy of the box
art, and features a huge shot of Hazel, with the
family, the same picture on the box art, on the
bottom. There are two options, Play All Episodes,
which lets you, repeat it with me, play all of the
episodes at once. The second option is Episode
Selections, which of course takes you to another menu
screen to choose the episode you want to watch. That
menu lists three episodes (then you go on to three
more, and then three more) and there is a little TV
set that features a still shot of the episode, and
when you select the TV, it takes you to the episode.
Video and Audio Quality:
The audio is actually really good, which surprises me,
as most sound quality on older show releases is quite
low. That wasn't the case here, which was great. The
video quality is good, for a black and white show, but
some episodes there is noticeable grain, especially in
the "What'll We Watch Tonight," which was originally shot in color.
It was the only one of the first season shows to be filmed in color.
The episodes
*appear* to me, to be uncut, running at over 25
minutes in length, and yes, there are chapter skips
available.
Disc 1
1- Hazel and the Playground (25:43)
2- Hazel Makes a Will (25:41)
3- Hazel Plays Nurse (25:42)
4- Matter of Principle, A (25:41)
5- Dorothy's New Client (25:44)
6- What'll We Watch Tonight? (25:28)
7- A Dog for Harold (25:43)
8- George's Niece (25:43)
9- Everybody's Thankful But Us Turkeys (25:42)
Disc 2
10- Winter Wonderland (25:43)
11- Hazel's Winning Personality (25:42)
12- Hazel's Christmas Shopping (25:42)
13- Dorothy's Obsession (25:42)
14- Hazel's Dog Days (25:42)
15- Replacement for Phoebe (25:42)
16- Hazel's Famous Recipes (25:41)
17- Hazel's Tough Customer (25:41)
18- Hazel's Secret Wish (25:41)
Disc 3
19- Hazel, the Tryst Buster (25:41)
20- The Investment Club (25:42)
21- Hazel's Mona Lisa Grin (25:42)
22- Hazel and the Gardener (25:41)
23- Dorothy's Birthday (25:41)
24- Number, Please? (25:40)
25- Them New Neighbors Is Nice (25:41)
26- Hazel's Pajama Party (25:41)
27- Three Little Cubs (25:41)
Disc 4
28- Bringing Out the Johnsons (25:41)
29- Hazel Quits (25:42)
30- Hazel the Matchmaker (25:42)
31- Rock-a-Bye Baby (25:40)
32- The Burglar in Mr. B's P.J.'s (25:41)
33- Heat Wave (25:41)
34- George's Assistant (25:39)
35- Hazel's Day (25:40)
Special Features:
Nothing, unless you want to count a bonus preview
that's a given on all Sony releases. They pimp their
shows on DVD. Not much else to tell, unfortunately.
How I wish we had bonus features!
Final Comments:
I'll start off by saying how great it is to have such
a rarely shown TV sitcom finally on DVD! Talk about a
nice surprise! I was very happy with Sony's release of
it. The box art is great, and although some episodes
are grainy at times, they appear uncut, which is a
major plus. The set is great but it lacks in bonus
features. I realize with the main cast all gone, it's
probably very hard to include extras, but surely,
there's got to be SOMETHING out there? A writer to do
commentary? A producer? Some bloopers? Anyway, it was
a good release, and I really hope the sales are good
enough to warrant at least a second season, so please,
run out and buy this show because it looks like Sony
got this set right and gave it to us UNEDITED!
Final Numbers (out of 5 stars - How our point system works)
Video Quality: 4/5
Audio Quality: 4/5
Special Features: 0/5
Menu Navigation/Design: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5
-- Reviewed by TVJunkie101 (Shawn Eaton) on 07/14/06
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